Saturday night, we returned from a whirlwind trip to Virginia.  Num’s friend Barb and her husband John welcomed their first child Jack earlier this year.  Months later, time for a baptism.  On account that we haven’t visited them in a while, plus with family in the area, time for a Virginia trip!

Friday

The plan was to take off Friday, drive down in the morning, and we would stay at a relative’s house Friday night.  The baptism was early Saturday morning, and we would drive back home Saturday afternoon. We would have liked to stay the entire weekend, but my wife was scheduled to work all day Sunday. Rats. At least we would see a few relatives, and maybe some sightseeing if we were lucky.

Yeah, not exactly according to plan.  Small scheduling snafu, and we found out early in the week that our relatives would not be available.  Instead, we stayed Friday night at the swanky Hotel Palomar in Arlington, Virginia.  We packed up the car (we packed light, which I found refreshing), and were on the road by 12:30pm.   I have found that driving to the Maryland/Virginia area sorta sucks, on account of all the traffic. Somehow, the trip to Maryland was smooth sailing, and we did it in 3 hours.  Josh chilled in the back, and Lily slept most of the way. 

Lily likes to get some work done while on the road.

We made it to New York Ave around 4pm, and the children were restless, as was my stomach.  We decided to postpone lunch and take advantage of the docile children by driving fast and hard. We had lunch @ 4pm at a Wendy’s in DC, and gave the kids a break for an hour.  Interestingly, it took us another two hours to make it out of DC and get to the hotel, because of all the traffic! Unbelievable.

Part of the delay resulted from our lack of quality GPS.  Sadly, we couldn’t find the DC charger, so we used my Blackberry Google Maps app, which I found out isn’t for heavy use. By the time we arrived at the hotel, we had 30 mins before we had to be back on the road to get to a relative’s house (Rami & Muni) for dinner. Again, traffic.

On the way home from Fri night dinner, we got lost driving around Arlington looking for the hotel, on account of Google Maps getting quirky.  All of a sudden, it told us to make a right turn, and I ended up the wrong way on a one way street.  Even worse?  A police car was sitting right there maybe 50 feet ahead (what luck), and stopped right in front of me to block me.  That’s when I realized that we were on a one way street. 

Could it get worse?  Yes.  I found out that my registration expired back in Feb 2009. Boy, I was surprised.  I later found out that Toyota transferred my new plates to the old existing registration.  By the law, the police officer said he was supposed to tow our car, but since the kids were sleeping, and we were lost looking for our hotel, he cut us a break, and….. gave us a warning.  Can you believe that? Expired registration, going the wrong way on a one way street in Virginia, and we got a warning.  Either he felt really bad for us, or that was divine intervention!

Saturday

I wish we could have stayed longer in the hotel.  It was really nice, but we still checked out in the morning before the baptism. Well, I liked everything, except for the fact that there were no vending machines in the entire hotel.  We were thirsty late Friday night, but if we wanted some water, our only choice was to buy heavily-marked-up bottled water in the minibar.  I even went down to the front desk to ask where the vending machines were. Minibar?  No thanks. Strange, right? 

Baptism

The baptism was short and sweet. I was a little surprised that it was a service with multiple baptisms. Thankfully, the Catholic priest kept the service short and sweet. The lunch was nearby at The Liberty Tavern. Unfortunately, even here, we got lost and late to the lunch, because of Google Maps. Argh!

After lunch, we went over to Barb & John’s home to change to our casual travelling clothes.  Again, we got severely lost trying to find the house, and we lost the GPS signal. Many times in that 30 mins, my phone told me we were driving in the middle of the Iwo Jima memoral.  I was pretty sure we weren’t. I never missed my GPS device as I did then.  Tech writers opine about the coming demise of standalone GPS units, but I doubt it.  Phone GPS is not there yet.

High school buddies Nums & Barb

We didn’t have much time at Barb & John’s house, as we were to meet another relative, Craig, at the Tyson’s Corner mall (in Tysons Corner) before heading home. Traffic again reared its ugly head.  My wife and I were never so disgusted as we were after sitting in traffic and at traffic lights in Virginia this weekend.  It was so frustrating.  We eventually reached the mall, but I couldn’t find parking. I dropped my family off, and I drove around for 45 mins looking for parking. We chatted with Craig while walking around the mall, and even though we were pressed for time, we made the effort to chat with him, and let the kids play in the mall’s play area, and even take a ride on a mini train. 

We eventually got on the road around 5pm, had a late dinner at a Waffle House in Rising Sun, Maryland, and got home around 9:50pm.  I gotta tell you, I’m glad we could be there for them on this momentous occasion, but I was exhausted by the time we got home.  It was certainly a whirlwind trip. I don’t know how the Virginians manage with all the traffic.  We spent so much of our time sitting on the Beltway, or sitting at long traffic lights.

This past Saturday, we left ab round 9:30am for Maryland.  Our friend Barb was to be a guest at her own supposed-to-be-a-surprise baby shower, but she found out somehow.  No matter.  The plan was for the girls to go the baby shower, and I would take Josh to the National Aquarium in  Baltimore. After driving through the rain on our way down south (again!), we made it down to the Maryland area.  Since we hadn’t had any time to pick up the baby shower gift, we ended up hitting a Babies “R” Us in the immediate area, buying and wrapping the gift in record time.

After I dropped off the girls, Josh and I got some quick lunch, and then we were off to Baltimore.  I haven’t been to Baltimore in many years, but I didn’t remember the harbor area being all that built up the last time.  There were so many restaurants and big box retailers in the area.  It appeared to be a pretty happening place now.

National Aquarium in Baltimore

First off, my goodness, the aquarium is very popular and very expensive.  It was 2:30 by the time we had parked the car, and made it to the ticket window area.  There was a long line to buy tickets, and it took some time to make it to the window.  Due to the crowds, they were staggering entrance, so even if we bought tickets, we couldn’t enter until 4:30pm.  Two hours! I was worried that after spending $40 on tickets, we’d make it 5 mins into the aquarium, the baby shower would be over, and we’d have to leave.  For some reason, the ticket window agent gave us a 2:30pm entrance time, and I didn’t ask questions as I bolted with Josh to the entrance before they figured it out.

We spent about 3 hours in the aquarium, taking in and absorbing all the different exhibits, and seeing all the marine wildlife.  It’s a pretty cool aquarium, I must say. You can learn a lot, as there is much to see.  There was no way we could hit everything, so we missed events like the puffin feeding time, and definitely no time for the dolphin show.  In the middle, I decided Josh and I could use an ice cream break, and we sat and watched the boats in the harbor.

Nums & Barb after the baby shower

We left around 5:30pm, and picked up the girls.  They had a good time at the baby shower, and Lily was her usual life of the party.  We hit a Waffle House on the way back for dinner, and got home around 11pm.

Truly, a spur-of-the-moment Maryland Adventure Day.  Photos are already posted, so enjoy.

Today, my wife was working, so she missed all the fun.  I took the kids to Philadelphia to spend a few hours at the Please Touch Museum. My wife first told me about it, and I think she had heard about it from her coworkers.  Ironically, the day we finally take the kids there, she’s gotta work.  Sucks.

Robbie & Joshua at the Please Touch Museum

In the morning, we got them ready, and off we went.  First I took the kids to Dunkin Donuts to get some donuts to go.  I didn’t want to unstrap the kids, so I opted for my first ever trip through the drive-thru.  Dunkin Donuts is currently running a promotion for 6 donuts for just $3.  Sounds nice, but you know what? I don’t want 6 donuts, I just want 3 donuts.  I’m sitting at the drive-thru, no menu of all the donuts to choose from, and the guy tries to convince me to get a half-dozen, as it’s the same price.  I figure what the hell, sure.  I start trying to rattle off a few types that I could remember, and they don’t have it.  What’s the point if they didn’t have any selection today?  I ended up getting the ONLY two glazed they had, one boston creme, and three chocoloate donuts.  We ate in the car, and Josh was covered in chocolate crumbs.

We met up with my sister and her husband at their place, and I drove the five of us to Philly.  The museum was very nice, and certainly a higher quality than the Garden State Discovery Museum in Cherry Hill we visited a while back. Lots of exhibits for the kids to see and interact with.  We had lunch around 2:30pm, and wrapped up around 5pm.  We’ll have to go back sometime.

One day, we’re going to take a vacation to Bora Bora, and stay at the Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora.  One day, my friends.  One day.  I don’t know what the kids are doing that week, but if they need us, my wife and I will be in our over-the-water bungalow.

Four Seasons Resort Bora Bora

Today, Josh and I made a father-son trip to the Liberty Science Center in Jersey City, NJ.  This was our first trip to Liberty Science Center, but I’m a big fan of science museums for kids.  I once went to the Franklin Institute Science Museum on a field trip back in 5th grade (I think), which was such a great trip for me.  In June 2007, we took Josh to the Garden State Discovery Museum, and he liked it a lot.  Kids love all those hands-on exhibits, as they get to learn as they play.

Hoberman Sphere in the LSC Atrium

We picked up bagels-as-breakfast-to-go, and ate all the way up the NJ Turnpike.  We arrived on a quiet day at the museum, just 8 busloads of school kids arrived a second ahead of us.  Grr, as we waited in line to get in.  Eventually, we purchased entrance tickets, and strolled in.  We couldn’t hit everything, and it would be a detriment to exhaust him, as he wouldn’t enjoy it anymore.  Remember, I’m trying to grow me a scientist.  What we saw:

• We ooohed and aaahed over the large expanding/contracting Hoberman Sphere (I didn’t know this was the largest on existing Hoberman sphere.)
• Visited the Skyscraper exhibit.
• Spent time in the I Explore area for 2-5 year-olds.
• Checked out the fascinating featured animals in the Eat or Be Eaten exhibit.
• Chilled out and ate lunch in the cafeteria.
• Saw a demonstration on liquid nitrogen.
• Watched Fly Me to the Moon, supposedly the first ever animated movie created for 3D.
• Walked through the Space exhibit (not quite ready for it.)
• Participated in a demonstration of animal phobias (and saw up close toads, spiders, snakes, cockroaches, etc.)
• Chilled out in the late afternoon by sitting and reading the Dr. Seuss classic The Lorax in the reading area.
• Visited the I Explore area again.
• Wrapped in the museum store, and bought some toy dinosaurs.

It was a great day to hang out.  Josh’s favorite area was certainly the I Explore area, where he could run around, play, measure rice, and use these large machines that moved colored balls up through the machinery, down spirals, moving levers, etc.  See the January photos for all the carnage.

What a weekend. We just returned from a 5-day road trip to Michigan, celebrating Thanksgiving with our friends Paul & Biji. Hoping I was off on Tuesday and could rest all day, we had hoped to leave Tuesday night, but I ended up working on Tuesday after all. I took a cat nap while my wife packed, then we loaded up the kids and luggage, toys and other paraphernalia, and hit the road around 5:45am.

Wednesday morning

I drove the first 6 hours while everyone slept, and we made a few pit stops as we drove from New Jersey across Pennsylvania on I-76, and crossing Ohio.  Nums drove across Ohio and got us into Michigan.  We finally reached the house around 6:30pm.  We had pre-arranged babysitters to take care of the kids, freshened up, and a group of us went to see the Piston-Knicks game over at The Palace of Auburn Hills.  The Knicks played horribly, but we had nearly court side seats, the company of friends, and no kids to wrangle.  Fun time. Afterwards, we picked up food to go, relieved the babysitters, and had a very late dinner at the house.

Thursday morning

We woke up early to have breakfast with Paul’s family at his parents house.  In the late morning and afternoon, Paul and I wrangled the kids, while the women shopped for food.  We all took turns, and more people slowly showed up, to help cook and clean up afterward.  At last count, there were about 30 people over their house for Thanksgiving dinner.

Friday morning

Thinking I had to work all day, I logged in to find out that I didn’t, and promptly shut off the laptop that morning.  We spent the rest of the day hanging out, watching movies, and relaxing.  In the evening, a number of folks all met up for dinner at the local Buffalo Wild Wings for dinner and drinks.

Saturday morning

More hanging out, more movies, and relaxing.  In the evening, we went to Longhorn Steakhouse for a last dinner with everyone.  We also did most of the packing up, to speed up the departure early Sunday morning.  The kids also got baths, because they were starting to stink. 

Sunday morning

We hit the road around 5:30am, and didn’t get stuck in traffic until the middle of Ohio and somewhere in Pennsylvania.  I can’t tell you how much being stuck in traffic sucks with tired children in the backseat, and having spent hours in the car.  We eventually reached home around 8:30pm that night.

We’re back from Punta Cana, having celebrated our 5-year wedding anniversary a month early. We dropped off Lily with her grandparents Thursday night, and left Friday morning to catch our flight from JFK.  We spent five days and four nights at the Paradisus Punta Cana, an all-inclusive resort in the Dominican Republic.  This was our first trip to D.R., but our second vacation at an all-inclusive resort (the first being our 2007 trip to Jamaica.)

We didn’t bring Lily as we have learned that taking an infant on a relaxing trip cancels each other out.  Too complicated to bring all their accouterments (e.g. diapers, wipes, portable crib.)  Too young for the tropics (e.g. direct sun, sand, heat.)  Too difficult to manage (e.g. warming milk, feedings during dinners, no sleep.)  It wasn’t an easy decision, but we figured it would be best that she stayed here.  In hindsight, I still think it worked out for the best.  Someone I know stated that we shouldn’t leave the baby behind — we should accept the responsibility since we decided to be parents.  My rebuttal was that this is coming from someone who hasn’t had to raise one or more kids of their own!

It was a fun trip. We spent a lot of time on the beautiful beach, the lagoon-style pool, resting and relaxing.  One night, Joshua stayed at the Kid Zone (awesome supervised play center for children) while we had a wonderfully romantic and adult dinner at Fuego, their latin restaurant.  It had to be my favorite night — it was like we were dating again, young and carefree.

The trip home was unfortunately long and tiresome.  While our trip to D.R. was a direct flight, our return trip involved traveling all day, including a 3-hour layover in Miami, and getting home by 2am.  In the end, it was still worth it.  On a geeky note, I declared it “Tolkien Weekend.”  I read The Silmarillion on the flights, on the beach, and night to unwind.  I used the portable DVD player we purchased back in November 2007 to watch all three Lord of the Ring movies, over the course of five days.  Oh, it was glorious.

Today we made a field trip out to Bucks County, Pennsylvania for a little BBQ. Specifically, Shady Brook Farm was running their annual Festival on the Farm. First time attendance, but I’ve been pushing for more exploration of Pennsylvania as we live so close. It was three days, but we braved the heat on only Saturday. The festival involves a strawberry festival, kiddie carnival, backyard bbq competition, but it was the BBQ that piqued my interest. It was a hot day, and we ended up camping out under a tent. Still, it was nice to get out for a while.

Now that the heat has arrived, Josh and I have been hitting the community pools in our neighborhood to keep cool. One thing that I like about our community are the facilities in close proximity — 4 pools, multiple playgrounds, two elementary schools, shops, etc. Definitely a plus.